Far From Home
by FangirlHufflepuff
Summary: During the last year of WW1 Tina decides to enlist as an army nurse and is sent to Ukraine.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi guys, so this is my second Newtina fic. I originally posted this on a different website and meant to post it on her but never got around to it. I hope you enjoy it. The prompt was from quilandsaber on tumblr. Just a disclaimer, I don't own Harry Potter or Fantastic Beasts. That wonderful privilege goes to JK Rowling**

Tina walked out of the MACUSA army nurse enlistment office into the bright June afternoon. She would be stationed in Ukraine. Tina knew she would be sent to Europe, but she hadn't quite expected to be sent to the Eastern front, let alone so far away. She had expected to be sent to a hospital in London or even Germany. She had to lie about her age, she knew it wasn't convincing. She barely passed for sixteen sometimes, let alone eighteen. She was thankful she was so tall, sometimes it made her look slightly older than she really was. Tina had to make arrangements for Queenie, she was still in school so most of the time Tina was gone Queenie would be at Ilvermorny.

When she made it back to the boarding house they were currently staying at she looked their door, hoping nobody would try eavesdropping. Tina knew they tended to look suspicious, they were two teenage girls living on their own, no parents in sight.

"So, did you do it?" Queenie asked her when she turned away from the door.

"Yes," Tina said, soberly.

"Don't worry about me. A lot of people stay at Ilvermorny over breaks," Queenie said.

"I leave in a month. They're sending me to Ukraine."

"We can write each other. Of course, I don't know how quickly any letters would reach you but we could try, at least. I'll miss you Teen."

"I'll miss you too, Queenie. I'll try to write when I can, but I don't know how much time I will have."

The month of June flew by and before she knew it, it was time for her to leave. She was to take a ship to France and from there she would make her way to Ukraine with a handful of other nurses. She and Queenie said a painful goodbye. They didn't want to let go of each other, but eventually, Tina had to board the ship. Tina boarded the ship not knowing when she would return.

The journey took two weeks. She spent a week on the ship and another week traversing Europe with a handful of other young women. It was clear that several of them had lied about their ages too, as they could scarcely pass for sixteen.

Tina wondered what kind of injuries these men were receiving if the typical potions and spells weren't enough to get them back into the field within a couple days.

She thought she recognized a red haired girl about her age. Tina was fairly certain they had several classes together at Ilvermorny. She decided to see if she was right. It might be useful to have a friend while she was abroad.

"Hello, I think I've seen you at school. Do you, by any chance attend Ilvermorny?" Tina asked the redhead.

"Yes. Don't let anyone know I haven't finished school, nor that I'm not seventeen," the girl said in a slow southern drawl.

"Don't worry, I won't. I'm not seventeen either. My name's Tina," Tina said, holding out her hand.

"Helen. What's your house?" Helen said, shaking Tina's hand.

"Thunderbird."

"Puckwudgy."

"Do you know anything about healing? I have very little experience with anything other than using episky to heal a broken toe or finger."

"A bit. I want to be a healer when I finish school. I'm not that experienced with making healing potions but I'm pretty good with which plants might be useful. I don't think any of that will really be needed since we're just looking after the patients. Obviously we will have to keep watch on wounds, don't want anything to get infected, but I'm sure when we get there somebody will let us know which potions and essences will be used for what. Your sister is Queenie, isn't she?"

"Yes, I've practically raised her. I feel terrible going off to war and leaving her by herself. MACUSA assured me she would have a guardian for the remainder of the summer or she would be sent back to Ilvermorny early. I couldn't sit back and do nothing. The thought of staying at school when there was some way I could do something just didn't sit right with me."

Finally, they arrived in Poltava, Ukraine. They were taken to the base hospital. Tina had never thought she would be somewhere like this. She saw many official looking men walking around between buildings looking as if they were in a rush and slightly worried. She heard so many different accents she could scarcely think of where very many were from, though she did notice quite a few with British accents. She was thankful she wasn't out in the field close to whatever had the officials so worried.

They finally made it to the hospital. There were five young women in total, but two had been sent to triage stations in the field. The three remaining young women, including Tina and Helen, were met at the hospital by a severe looking middle aged woman with grey eyes and long grey hair peppered with dark brown pulled into a bun on top of her hair.

"Hello, ladies. My name is Winifred Boot. I will be in charge of your training here, however brief it may be. Just a note on how you should dress. You will be provided with three uniforms, you may receive more but the cost of the extras will be deducted from your first pay. You are to keep your hair confined away from your face and your nails are to be kept short so as not to scratch the patients who are already injured, you may not wear rings, bracelets, watches, or any other jewelry on your hands and wrists. Just a note on hygiene as well, you are to clean your hands before working with another patient, especially if you have been cleaning or redressing wounds. Now, follow me and I will show you to your sleeping quarters then we will go over your daily schedules."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, so I was going to get this up much sooner but I unexpectedly got called into work today and I had to rewrite this chapter. I lost the notebook I had originally written this in. I had written at least 3 chapters in that notebook of this fic and another one and I can't find that dang notebook. I'm very annoyed right now. I know this isn't as good as it originally was but I couldn't remember everything I had written in the notebook. I work better if I handwrite first then edit as I type if you're curious what my process is.**

 **Anyway, here's my wonderful disclaimer disavowing any ownership I dream of having of Fantastic Beasts or Harry Potter as that wonderful privilege goes to JK Rowling, a god among us writers.**

It had been an incredibly long day and she had only been on the military base for a few hours. Tina decided to take a walk to try to clear her head. She didn't feel like she had absorbed anything from those few hours with Winifred Boot.

So far she had received her uniforms, been shown where she would sleep and how to brew a few different potions to help keep the unconscious patients alive. Seeing as they couldn't feed themselves it was up to the nurses to keep them fed and hydrated. She had also been shown where the large supply of dittany was, should she need it and she was sure she would.

Tina hadn't been paying much attention to where she was going, she had walked into a tall slender man with a mop of red hair.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," Tina told him, hoping he wasn't that high up in command.

"I'm the one who should be sorry," the man spoke with a British accent. "I wasn't watching where I was going either."

She didn't know why, having just met him, but he couldn't seem to quite meet her eye.

"I'm Tina, one of the new nurses," she introduced herself, holding out her hand to him.

"Newt. Tina, I'm sure if you're one of our nurses we will be in good hands," he told her, shaking her hand. "Let me walk you back to the hospital."

She had gone further than she meant to she realized when they had been walking for about five minutes and still weren't back to the hospital. Tina was sure on her own she would have gotten lost.

"So, Tina, where are you from? I can tell you're an American, your accent gives you away."

"New York. Where are you from?"

"Dorset. It's absolutely beautiful there."

She hardly knew this man but she could already trust him. Tina hoped they could be friends.

"Well, here we are," Newt said, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Thank you, for walking me back. I would have gotten lost on my own. I hadn't realized how far I had gone. Maybe we can do this again tomorrow? It was nice meeting you." She didn't know what made her suggest walking together the next day, but she was glad she had.

"Of course. It will have to be in the evening. I'm supposed to begin my new post tomorrow. I just arrived this morning."

"OK. I'll see you tomorrow evening."

They parted ways with the promise of seeing each other tomorrow.

Most evenings they were able to meet. Tina could tell most days Newt was exhausted by the time they met and decided to ask him why he didn't just go get some rest instead of walking with her.

"I don't have many friends, to be honest. I tend to annoy people."

"You don't annoy me."

"I suppose I've always been more comfortable with animals than people."

They only continued to grow closer. Tina even divulged the fact she was under age, afterhaving him make an unbreakable vow.

"Why did you come here? You're under age and the only family your sister has left."

"I couldn't stand idly by and do nothing. Besides, I'll be 17 next week. After that, even if I am found out they can't make me go back."


	3. Chapter 3

Tina had been in Ukraine for a few months. It was closing on Hanukah and she was missing Queenie now more than ever. They wrote letters as often as they could but Tina was unable to send them often enough. Queenie had been kind enough to send a couple pictures in her last letter. She kept one in a gold locket Newt had given her for her birthday.

On an overcast bitterly cold day around the middle of December Tina was to be on duty overnight tending to the few patients that needed extra care before being transported back to London to St. Mongo's. It was almost time for her shift to begin when she could hear a commotion in the main room where the patients are treated. Tina had just woken up and was getting ready for a long night on duty.

When Tina walked out of her sleeping quarters she saw a couple men in uniform helping some of her fellow nurses get an injured unconscious man into a bed. She saw a familiar mop of red hair and felt an invisible fist squeeze her heart. Tina rushed over ready to help.

It takes a while to get him cleaned up and the superficial wounds healed but they finally do. Afterwards Tina sits in silent vigil by his bedside until morning comes, only leaving his side to check on the other patients. She is terrified she's going to lose her only friend besides Queenie.

Come morning she begins to dribble potion down his throat to keep him from getting too dehydrated.

After a week arrangements have to be made to move Newt to London for better care than they can give him here.

"Winifred, can I talk to you?" Tina says uncertainly, knocking on Winifred Boot's office door.

"Ms. Goldstein, please come in. I need to speak with you as well," is the greeting she receives.

"I would like to go to London with Mr. Scamander. Just to make sure he doesn't start to get any worse than he already is."

"I was going to send you to London anyway, Goldstein. I was trying to decide when to bring this up. Did you lie about your age when you enlisted?"

Tina refused to meet Winifred's eye when she was asked the question.

"How do you know that?"

"I received an owl from America warning me that a couple of students from Ilvermorny were not present at the beginning of the school year. The only logical explanation that anyone could come up with was that the missing students had enlisted as nurses. You know the rules, Ms. Goldstein. I cannot have you or Helen Mathews on this base. Both of you are to return to London and from there return to America to finish out the year at school."

"I'm of age now. I have been since August. Doesn't that count for anything?"

"Unfortunately not much. If it were up to me you would be allowed to stay. You're a good healer, Tina, and I hate to have to dismiss you."

"I will leave Ukraine and go back to London but I'm not leaving Newt until he wakes up. What did that to him, anyway?"

"A Ukrainian Ironbelly dragon. The men here are supposed to be working with them but he's one of the few that, until now, hadn't sustained even minor injuries from the dragons. That's all I'm allowed to say. What you do once you reach London I have no control over. I do wish you well."

Once she left Winifred's office Tina began packing her bags. Her stay here had been much shorter than she had expected. The next morning found Tina in the back of a truck next to a still unconscious Newt and the only other girl from Ilvermorny she knew, Helen. It was a long 4 day trip to France where they caught a boat to cross the English Channel.

Once back in London Helen was to go to the Ministry of Magic to take an international portkey back to New York.

"Well, I guess this is good bye?" Helen seemed uncertain about this even as she said it.

"I'll be back at some point. I just don't know when.


End file.
